New Concept Car: Volkswagen Golf R & GTI Convertible

Volkswagen has unveiled its fastest ever cabriolets at the Worthersee GTI show in Austria this week with the Golf Cabriolet R concept and the Golf Cabriolet GTI concept.

The new models were wheeled out alongside the Golf GTI Edition 35 – built to celebrate 35 years of Volkswagen’s iconic hot-hatch.

The R Convertible is mechanically identical to its hard-top sibling, with 266bhp produced by a 2.0-litre TSI engine and delivered to all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox or six-speed manual. The concept car is able to sprint from 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds – exactly the same time it takes the hard-top to complete the benchmark sprint. Top speed remains at 155mph making this the fastest Golf convertible ever produced.

VW revealed that it's currently gauging public reaction to the R concept and if there is enough interest it will go into production. Judging by the crowds that swamped the R as it was driven on stage, it may not be long until we see the fastest ever Golf convertible on the roads.

Also revealed at Worthersee was another hot VW drop-top. Based on the current Golf Cabrio, the GTI variant was sporting large alloys, an aggressive bodykit and twin chrome exhausts mounted either side of a bespoke rear apron.

A VW spokesman revealed that the Golf GTI’s 207bhp 2.0-litre TSI engine is already available in the Cabriolet line-up so it’s unlikely a GTI badged model will ever see production, but many of the concept’s styling touches – including the alloys and bodykit could be available as optional extras in the future. For more details click here.